


Worth Protecting

by FaintlyMacabre



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blood, Blood and Injury, But also kinda soft?, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Junoverse | Juno Steel Universe, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23656573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaintlyMacabre/pseuds/FaintlyMacabre
Summary: Juno's used to taking hits in the name of protecting the people around him. Nureyev returns the favor.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702642
Comments: 13
Kudos: 128
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Worth Protecting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [consider_the_nexus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/consider_the_nexus/gifts).



> Taking the Bullet with Nureyev and Juno (sounds like the most horrifying talk show), requested by consider_the_nexus. Thank you so much for the prompt!

Juno hadn’t thought Nureyev could knock him off his feet in any but the metaphorical sense— Nureyev probably hadn’t either, if their sparring sessions back on the ship were anything to go by. There, his attacks were darting, quick, precise, and Juno knew he would be dead several times over if they were really fighting, but they never relied on a great amount of force. Nureyev’s style was deft and efficient and usually entailed sticking to the periphery. The first time he attacked from Juno’s blind spot, Juno had wound up with a (practice) knife at his throat less than a minute into the fight.

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry, love,” Nureyev had said, putting the knife back down, “but the second an assailant realizes they can exploit your missing eye, they will.”

“No, you’re right,” Juno had said, looking chagrined for a moment before he spun to knock Nureyev down and pin him to the mat.

Between the two of them, when it came to close combat, Juno was much more likely to employ direct hits and blunt force. So it was a surprise when Nureyev’s bony shoulder slammed into him— from his blind spot— and he felt them both go down. Felt something else, some other force acting on Nureyev that turned them both in midair and made him land on his back with Nureyev on top of him. As Juno gasped for breath, he could feel something warm and wet soaking through his shirt.

“Juno,” Nureyev panted, “you’re all right?”

A laser beam hit the concrete next to them, and Juno instinctively picked up his blaster and aimed in the direction it had come from. With his awkward position on the ground and lack of depth perception, it didn’t hit the shooter, but it did hit the ceiling, which rained down enough pieces of itself to make them retreat. They had to get out of here; who knew how stable this area was?

“Nureyev,” Juno said, and turned to look at the thief for the first time since they’d hit the ground, and found him worryingly pale with blood flowing down his chest. “Oh, no.”

“They didn’t hit you?” Nureyev said. It sounded like he was having a hard time speaking.

“No, oh god.” It was less an answer to the question than it was an assessment of the situation. “Shit, I can’t— can you press down on the wound? I’m gonna…” He tried to roll them so that he could stand without hurting Nureyev further.

Nureyev looked like he was trying to help, but wasn’t up for much. His gaze fell to Juno’s shirt as Juno got his arms under his back and knees. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“What? No, don’t talk, don’t— we’re gonna get back to the ship, don’t worry about anything else.” Juno moved as fast as he could with Nureyev pressed to him like that, the thief’s arms folded across his chest like he was already…

_Stop that._

Just as well they were in a junk yard: no one around to notice two people covered in blood, one carrying the other, his eyes so wide the whites were probably visible all the way around. He’d thought the building they were supposed to meet in looked like a death trap, but this wasn’t quite what he’d had in mind.

But wasn’t it? This was too secluded a meeting spot; he couldn’t believe Buddy hadn’t insisted on a change of location when she got the coordinates. But she’d trusted her contact, and they’d trusted her. God, what a mistake.

Or maybe Juno should have called her when they got there— a meeting with someone they didn’t know in a falling down cinderblock of a building in the middle of a junk yard? Pass, hard pass. Or if he’d just paid more attention, he could have taken the shot meant for him and Nureyev wouldn’t be…

Nureyev wouldn’t be shivering in his arms and still bleeding, goddamn it, _where_ was Jet? Juno wove around piles of cast-off appliances and furniture, keeping to the edges of the path, but he didn’t really know his way around in here.

From up ahead and to the right, Juno heard a familiar whistle. He turned the corner. He didn’t think he’d ever been happier to see Jet and the Ruby. Jet, of course, saw the blood right away and moved to take Nureyev out of Juno’s arms, but Juno slowed and held Nureyev tighter.

“Does he have a spinal injury?” Jet said.

“What?” Juno said, his mind entirely occupied by the directive _hold on to Nureyev_. “No, but—”

“I am going to put him in the backseat so that he is comfortable, and you are going to get in on the other side and try to stop the bleeding.”

The Big Guy was right, as usual. Juno’s arms were starting to shake and at this point, he didn’t really know if he could put Nureyev down easily and comfortably. He nodded, and Jet plucked Nureyev out of his arms as though he weighed nothing.

They took off as soon as they were all safely inside. Nureyev was still shivering, and his eyes looked unfocused. Juno tried to put pressure on the wound while shrugging off his coat. He finally got it off and wrapped it around Nureyev, who was still apparently (thankfully) hanging in there.

“Going to… ruin… your coat.”

“I hated that coat,” Juno said. “It looks better on you, anyway.”

The corner of Nureyev’s mouth lifted briefly before he raised his eyes to Juno’s. “I’m… sorry.”

“For— no, actually, I’ve decided, you’re not allowed to be sorry until Vespa stitches you up,” Juno said. “Maybe not even then. We’ll talk.”

“For… Juno, I…” Nureyev was rapidly losing focus but still trying to speak. “I miss…”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Juno said, not wanting to look away but not wanting Nureyev to see him cry. “Everything’s okay, and you’re gonna be okay. Don’t try to talk. I promise, whatever it is, it’s okay.”

“You… _promise_.” It sounded to Juno like Nureyev was going for gently mocking, which was encouraging, but he answered as though it had been a real question. As though the answer was up to him.

“Yeah, I do,” Juno said. “And you know me, I’m always right, so.”

Nureyev’s laugh turned into a cough almost immediately.

“How much longer?” Juno demanded.

“We are pulling up now, Juno.” And the Carte Blanche was suddenly above them, blocking the view of stars and distant planets. Juno hadn’t even noticed when they left the atmosphere. The hatch was almost open enough to let the car in, but it still seemed to be moving too slowly. He looked back down at Nureyev.

He was still conscious, for a given value of conscious, but he didn’t seem to see Juno anymore.

“No, no, no, come on, honey, stay with me, we’re almost there, hey, look at me, Nu— Ransom, you gotta—” Juno didn’t really know what he was saying, he just had to keep talking, keep Nureyev awake, because if he couldn’t do that Nureyev would die, if he couldn’t do that, he’d be useless…

“Let go, Juno.”

“What?” Juno’s head snapped up.

Jet was standing at the open car door. The car was parked and Jet needed Juno to let go so that he could carry Nureyev to the medbay. All the same, it was hard to unclench his fingers from the coat and pull his hand away from the wound under Nureyev’s clavicle. As he pulled back he caught Nureyev’s expression; his eyes were wide but more focused again, and fixed on Juno. Nureyev whispered something before Jet got him out of the car and carried him away. Juno thought it sounded like “honey.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm @princegabriel on Tumblr if you'd like to request anything on the card, or if you're interested in podcasts and cute animals and occasionally my art!


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